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What's in a name? Integrity.

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âHe just enjoyed the actual work,â his son, Tom Hays, said in 2006. His father set high standards that earned the respect of his counterparts at major newspapers, he said.

âI think he really made an effort to make it a pretty sophisticated operation and to broaden its journalistic scope and ambition,â said the younger Hays, an Associated Press reporter in New York City.

âIt was Tim who spent the money to expand news staff and finance legal defenses of the First Amendment that twice went to the Supreme Court. It was he who risked profits to communicate truths uncomfortable to some,â Marcia McQuern, former editor and publisher, said in 2006.

McQuern first met Hays when she was a summer reporting intern.

âHe was concerned that people have access to a newspaper so they could be informed about what was going on in the nation, the world, not to mention their communities,â said Jean Wingard, Hays' longtime secretary. He had high expectations for employees, Wingard said last year, but he was approachable to all and knew most employees by name.

'THE RIGHT THING'

Hays' world extended beyond the newspaper's coverage area. He served nine years as a member of The Associated Press' board of directors.

Hays had an âintense interest in all aspects of AP's global news-gathering, and in the welfare of our journalists across the world,â Louis D. Boccardi, former AP president, wrote in an e-mail last year.

Boccardi said Hays had a âquietly ferocious commitment to doing the right thing' whatever the subject and however difficult it was to find that blessed state.â

McQuern recalled a series she wrote on âcar-repair bluesâ that exposed consumer problems with some auto mechanics who worked at gas stations, independent repair shops and automotive dealerships. The dealers protested to Hays and canceled advertising for a few days.

âThey were very angry, and he just asked, 'Are you sure we're right?'â McQuern said. Like many other times, he stood by his reporters even when friends would criticize something that appeared in the paper, she said last year.

âHe took the heat sometimes when it was painful,â McQuern said, âHe was always gutsy.â

COMMUNITY LEADER

In addition to his newspaper management, Hays was among prominent city leaders who worked to get a University of California campus established in Riverside. The campus opened in 1954. At UC Riverside Founder's Day in 1989, Hays was presented The University Award, the university's highest recognition for public service.

The Mission Inn Foundation honored him in 1999 for his role in developing the nonprofit foundation and working with the city Redevelopment Agency to reopen the Inn.

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